Friday, February 12, 2016

Shouldless Days: February / Mexication Highlights

Happy Friday, everyone!  It's an especially happy Friday for me as I have a long weekend ahead of me since my company gives us Presidents' Day off. This post will combine my "shouldless" days for February with a recap of my vacation to Mexico! Phil and I left for Mexico last Friday for a 4 night/5 day getaway. Our getaway happened to fall over my birthday although we didn't exactly intentionally plan it that way - it just ended up being the best time for us to get away from work. That said, it sure was wonderful to celebrate my birthday in Mexico!

Prior to our trip, we did not plan anything. That was intentional as we both wanted and needed a relaxing and low key trip. Both of our vacations last fall were so much fun, but they were also pretty busy so we wanted our next trip to be all about relaxation! And our trip to Mexico was ALL about relaxing as it was a string of "shouldless" days!  There's not a whole lot to report about the vacation as we pretty much vacillated between laying on the beach and swimming in the ocean, eating in the resort restaurants, and relaxing/sleeping in our room, but here are some of the highlights from our getaway!

- Getting to spend 5 days with Phil.  We have busy schedules so we don't get to see each other every day which made me appreciate spending 5 full days with him!



- Walking on the beach and swimming in the ocean. We visited the Riviera Maya area of Mexico which is just south of Cancun. I've been to several beaches in North America but this was hands down the most beautiful one I've seen. The water was a gorgeous green/blue, the sand was white and the water was clear. It was perfection.


- ALL the books.  I read 3 books (2 a.m. at the Cat's Pajamas, Orhan's Inheritance, and The Art Forger) over the span of our 5 day vacation. I read a lot at home but it's rare for me to read in long, uninterrupted stretches. I thoroughly enjoyed being able to do that on this trip!



- No alarm clock.  Enough said, right?

- Snorkeling on a reef close to our resort. On our last full day at the resort, we did an afternoon excursion to a reef that was a 10 minute boat ride away from our resort. We saw so many cool fish and it was so relaxing to float around and observe the fish in their habitat.

- Unplugging. We didn't think we would have WIFI in our room but it turned out we did. However, I stayed disconnected as much as possible as my work email comes into the same ap as my gmail so it's very hard to check one without looking at the other. I rarely took my phone with me anywhere except for days when I wanted to get some ocean pics.

On the plane ride home, I asked Phil:  "So, where are we going next?" What can I say, traveling is my jam.

What was the last vacation you went on?

19 comments:

Kyria @ Travel Spot said...

That looks like a very relaxing vacation! I love being able to spend time reading and swimming and basking in the sun! It's also nice that you and Phil are compatible travel partners. I think traveling with a person is a sure fire way to find out if you really get along well! If you can spend 5 days together 24/7 without getting into any skirmishes, you are good to go!

I have a block of time set aside for vacation but have not decided yet what I am going to do! Its not that the options are few, but that they are TOO many and I cannot decide! I definitely know it will involve mountains.... As for shouldless days, right now I am quite heavy on "should" days, although it's my own fault of course. However, I find it hard to keep up with friends otherwise!

Jeanie said...

It sounds wonderful, Lisa. Perfect in every single way. I like the concept of unplugging and reading so much, just spending time together. And that sand and water photo is heavenly. BIGGEST SIGH!

Last vacation, next vacation... Well, to be honest, I can't remember the last. I suppose if you don't count lake time or family visits, it was when I picked Rick up in Toronto, after spending a few days with my friend Suzanne in Canada. Next up is our trip to Massachusetts -- a visit to Rick's brother and a trade show. I'll help as much as I can depending on the leg/knee/hip stuff. As for a really relaxing vacay? You know, once you retire, every day is vacation!

Marlys said...

Gosh, that sounded like a perfect get-a-way! That beach photo sure showed the clean water and sugar sand. I so love the beach!
No plans for a get away for us this year again, but hope we can rectify that next year. So I am pleased we got to go to FL in October for our gals get away!
I bet it was hard to come back to the cold, and I am so ready to pack winter away!
Looking forward to hearing all about your trip next weekend!

Charbelle said...

I'm so glad y'all were able to get away for a few days and that you had such an amazing birthday!!! I hope to visit Mexico at some point :) It's always wonderful to have a vacation where you really don't have to "do" anything but enjoy!

Nora said...

My renewed (with new last name, nearly four years later!) passport just came which meant I promptly asked Knight "where to?" We could use a getaway like the one you described here. Looks and sounds glorious, plus you can't go wrong with a good stretch of time with your loved one. What resort did you guys pick?

suki said...

Sounds like you got to relax and do what you love! :) My last vacation was to Mexico City! Not the same Mexican experience as yours since you were on the beach, but it was great. An amazing city to explore. :)

San said...

This sounds like such a perfect little birthday-getaway including the "shouldless"days :) I am so happy you were able to unplug, unwind and spend time with Phil.

My last vacation was last summer when my family visited. Oh, and then a one-night getaway with my friend from home in December. That was nice :) It was only a 36 hour trip up to Lake Tahoe, but it was so much fun!

Caroline said...

Sounds like a perfect getaway! I am all about having active vacations but sometimes it's just SO nice to relax, enjoy the company, and have no agenda. I am in Florida now (as you know haha) and it's going to be a vacation exactly like that. This week I've been working from here but as soon as Kel and Eric get here tomorrow I'm putting the laptop away and officially declaring myself on vacation :) Can't wait!

The Many Thoughts of a Reader said...

Ahhhh the beach pictures. I need this in my life again.

Amber said...

Ahhh looks so amazing! The last true vacation Eric and I took was to Maui almost a year ago. But we also traveled to the Sunshine Coast last summer which was great. This year we are going to Toronto with my dad and brother in June and also have a trip to the Big Island of Hawaii already booked for Christmas 2016! We've been researching Iceland trips like crazy as we'd both LOVE to go but we are also going to London in April 2017 to see the Harry Potter play so might try to tag Iceland onto that trip.

I definitely thought Maui was a good balance between the adventurous vacations we normally take plus beach / all inclusive. It was extremely relaxing as we spent a lot of time sitting on our Lanai and reading or snorkeling / floating in the ocean but we also got some hiking in and some other sightseeing. Plus since we had a condo we could buy groceries and make our own food so we didn't end that trip feeling super yucky from eating out (which we totally did after our all inclusive to Mexico!!)

I'm so glad you guys had a relaxing vacation though. Very deserved!

Becky said...

"So, where are we going next?"

LOVE it! You know how I feel about the beach (blech!) but even I am jealous of these photos - gorgeous! And I'm sure such a nice break from temps in MN in February!

Carolina John said...

That sounds like a blast! But I know you took more pictures than that. I'm sure Phil had a great time too.

So where are you heading next? I'm going to Alabama in a couple of weeks for a 12 hour race.

Stephany said...

I love, love, love relaxing vacations. I figured out that the reason I love cruising so much is because it's the lazy person's way to vacation, ha. Lots of downtime interspersed with sightseeing. It's my perfect vacation!

I actually think the last vacation I took was my seven-day cruise last May! That's crazy!

Raquelita said...

Ahhh! So nice! Beach reading, swimming, and resting sound like a lovely way to spend a few days. We're planning a trip to Costa Rica in a few weeks and plant to do a couple of excursions but we also want a couple of beach days with nothing on our agendas.

Also: I could really use a shouldless day sometime soon.

Jolene - EverydayFoodie said...

Hahaha, love it! Traveling is totally my jam too ;-) Three books in 5 days!! That's craziness! Sounds like a very relaxing, wonderful vacation. Our last vacation was Vegas at Christmas, and our next is New Orleans in March!!

Elizabeth said...

Sounds like perfection!!! :) So glad you two had some really wonderful days away together :)

Jenny said...

That looks like such an amazing vacation and sounds sooo good to me right now! No alarm clock and spending 5 whole days with your favourite person? Bliss!

Sadly I think my last proper vacation was the 4 days we went snowboarding in Ohakune in 2014. We've got Scotland to look forward to this year though :)

Linda said...

The hue of the water is so beautiful and romantic!! Love following along on your travels. Living vicariously!

Cherry Blossoms said...

Glad you two were able to get away to a such a beautiful place.
That's a great pic of Phil by the way!